WATCH: ‘Painting is like meditation’: local art show returns

• Mission Painters is a senior’s group
• Hoping to save Okanagan Mission Activity Centre

For the first time since 2019, a local art show is being put on by Mission Painters Art Group this weekend.

Art by the Lake is an event that features artists from the group made up of senior citizens. It is being held at the Okanagan Mission Activity Centre (OMAC) beside Sarsons Beach.

President of the group, Margo Jensen, said it feels great to have everyone back.

“We have a fabulous group of artists, and we meet every Wednesday down here in our building,” she told Kelowna10. “It is a wonderful event, not only for the artists… but it also is great for the community. We find we have so many people come out and even tell us how they look forward to it every year.”

The art group was established in 1978, offering an opportunity for learning and improving in a supportive environment, and the event showcases the local talent across various mediums and styles.

Jensen prefers using oil as her medium, but she can also paint in acrylics. She said oil is the perfect choice for portraiture as it brings out the depth of skin tones, whereas acrylic is better for painting landscapes outdoors since it dries quickly.

“Painting for me is like a meditation,” she explained. “It allows me to get out of my head, get out of the world’s craziness, and into a fantasy world in a sense, where you’re able to put your emotion and your feelings on a canvas, and just enjoy it.”

Another local artist, Michelle Droettboom, said she was a speech therapist for 45 years before she retired and took up painting.

“I’m using that same creativity that I used with little kids on the autism spectrum, and I get to share exploration… you just learn as you go, that’s the kind of painter I am,” she said.

Last year, Droettboom initiated a local art project called “Share the Sunshine”, where 400 art panels were created with accompanying messages for the ICU and COVID wards at Kelowna General Hospital.

“We made sure we displayed them in a way that they could pick it,” she said. “So, the one that spoke to their heart would also maybe heal their heart.”

During the show, the members were raising awareness about the OMAC building where the show was hosted because the city may be demolishing it in a couple years.

More information about OMAC can be found here.

Art by the Lake runs on July 9 and 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.